


Werewolves... In Space!

by VisualStain



Series: Creative Writing Challenges [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Jupiter, People don't like what's different, Racism, Sci-Fi, Weird premise but leave it to me to make it not funny, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 00:43:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14225415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisualStain/pseuds/VisualStain
Summary: Humanity has spread across the solar system. The first planet they colonize? Jupiter. Of course, as with anything else, settling down on a new planet leads to some unforeseen issues.Based on the prompt: Jupiter has 64 moons and a serious werewolf problem.





	Werewolves... In Space!

**Author's Note:**

> Ah humans, we hate things that are different. We hate people that are different. I don't know why it's hard for me to write just happy things, but I do know that I love to add aspects in fantasy that echo real life racism or class struggles.

It was an unforeseen consequence of human space travel. Lycanthropy had been spreading throughout human society since the Dark Ages, but had been a well kept secret until now. Humans were forced to abandon Earth, where werewolves had a fairly easy time hiding their traits, and spread throughout the galaxy. Unfortunately most of the planets that humans then settled had far more moons than Earth did. The worst was Jupiter.

For the most part, Jupiter was a lovely planet and an extremely popular destination. It’s immense size left a lot of room for people to settle and the Red Spot made for an attractive tourist trap, as long as you didn’t get too close. However problems started almost immediately. A number of humans who either were unaware of their lycanthropic nature or simply hid it before found themselves often more wolf than human.

Since Jupiter was so large and there were so many moons, some lycans would be transformed at a certain time while their neighbors wouldn’t. They could never really tell when it was going to happen either. Some unfortunate lycanthropes were stuck half-wolf and half-human at all times.

Of course, people freaked out once the lycans started coming out into the public. There was a lot of panic and name-calling and violence. Werewolf became less of a description and more and more of a slur. Some groups of lycanthropes tried to hold protests as they saw their rights being taken away from their new planet, their new home. The protests ended poorly. Lycans had a hard time controlling themselves, especially in full wolf form. Blood was shed on both sides and eventually all the lycans were thrown out of their homes and were exiled to the Red Spot.

It took some time for the lycans to adapt. They were cut off from society and the rest of the galaxy, so they had no clue how the rest of their brethren were faring on other planets. Eventually, they did adapt to their new home. The lycans became a community, relying on and supporting each other. Since they were confined to a smaller area the moons became less of an issue too.

Despite the isolation, the issue of the lycans on Jupiter was not solved. Lycanthropes had been a part of normal society for centuries, and even if the traits of the wolf were not present in a person, they could still be a carrier of the blood. Families that were perfectly normal still found themselves with lycan children, and the discrimination continued.

Ylva was one of the unlucky children. There hadn’t been a lycan in her family in generations, and her parents had thought that the blood was too diluted to have any effect. They were wrong. Ylva had been born a lycan and her first time outside ended with her full transformation. She couldn’t remember it as she was so young, but the horror of her parents had been relayed to her so often that she understood what had happened. To make matters worse for young Ylva, the constant flux of moons had caused her to become one of the lycans that were permanently half-wolf and half-man.

Ylva’s parents tried to raise her, they didn’t want to abandon their child. But her wolf side terrified them, and they were constantly reminded of it whenever they saw her ears, tail, claws, eyes, and even teeth. To their credit, they waited until she was old enough to understand that she was different from the others. They explained to her why she couldn’t go outside and once she started trying to sneak out, they knew it was time.

Ylva packed up her belongings, which were not much more than the bare essentials as she never was able to go to the store to buy anything. Her mother prepared food for her and gave her some extra provisions to take with her. Her mother waved goodbye as Ylva and her father left. Ylva couldn’t see, they covered her from head to toe for the journey to the Red Spot. 

It was a few days’ travel, especially as they had stopped a few times to rest. Eventually they made it a safe distance outside of the Red Spot and they got out of the car. There was a sign right in front of them. On it, in big bolded letters, it read: “Warning: Werewolves Ahead!”

Ylva took off her blindfold and clenched it in her fists. She could feel her sharp teeth grind together. Even here, so far away from society, the lycans could not avoid the slur. Anger boiled in her stomach and Ylva felt like tearing something apart. Her father placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her. She calmed, the rage was gone, leaving only emptiness at the pity in his eyes.

They said goodbye without much fanfare, and before long Ylva was watching her father drive away. She turned back towards the sign that she had begun to despise. Ylva faced the storm in the distance with a new feeling of determination settled deep within her heart. She started to walk, and she didn’t look back.


End file.
